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SLO cops rough up homeless man waiting for a sandwich

October 19, 2012

Following a complaint from a worker at the Maxine Lewis Homeless Shelter, San Luis Obispo Police threw a mentally challenged man, who was not resisting arrest, to the ground before taking him into custody.

Chris Grace, a local homeless woman who claims she has been harassed and now keeps a camera to video tape police, posted a video of the incident. Though the video quality is poor,  at the end of the video an officer admits the man did not resist arrest and was not acting aggressively when police arrived.

On Thursday at about 5:20 p.m., Grace said the man was asked to leave the shelter for acting strange, which he did. The man was waiting for a friend to bring him food after being denied a meal at the shelter when police arrived. In all, six police cruisers responded.
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I don’t get it. This guy came into a homeless center where the staff knows he suffers from mental illness, and supposedly offers “services” for mentally ill folks. But when the homeless center staff sees him acting mental, they 86 him from being able to receive meals donated by churches and service clubs for one hundred and fifty days. This is a strange way to provide “services” or charity.


Instead of calling the mental health department or offering him the services, the cops show up blocks away where he is not doing anything. All six cruisers on duty show up; and apparently all these officers know the guy and his mental illness. But instead of calling mental health, these officers wearing body armor decide to take him down because three years ago he threw rocks in a different county.


San Luis Obispo has turned the idea of protecting quality of life on its head. Starving, and then jailing, this guy demeans us all.


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I’m half amazed they didn’t roll SWAT.


Then again, maybe they did. Too bad Fire Truck #1 wasn’t able to get in on the action…


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crusader, maybe they SHOULD have called SWAT. The outcome would have been much different. There is such a lop-sided view of this incident. SLO PD were just doing their jobs…


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Kelley Thomas was beaten to death in Corona. Ring any bells? Police don’t seem to handle schizophrenia patients very well.


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“In all, six police cruisers responded.”


Yet another reason why so many detest the SLOPD…


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Richard cooperated with the staff members at the shelter and peacefully left the shelter. He then proceeded to McMillan Avenue, where he peacefully waited for a friend to bring him a meal because he was denied a meal at the shelter. When police arrived on McMillan Avenue, he was not acting in a threatening manner. He was just waiting for his friend and a meal, with his hands in his pockets. He did not resist arrest. Was it necessary for so many police officers to arrive on the scene and throw him to the ground? No, it was not. SLO police have been acting aggressively since February, when the mayor and city councilmembers began ordering them to ticket and fine homeless people. The mayor and city councilmembers caused this tension in our city. Vote the incumbents out!


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The police DO NOT throw anybody to the ground UNLESS they have a reason , so give up on that issue , the dash cameras are on as soon as they exit their vehicle , so im sure its all on video that you can see.


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Oh ok.. so if it’s on video, then you’ll believe it? *chuckle*


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The SLOCity police have become spoiled by being paid to bully helpless, defenseless people. I mean, come ON–six cars responded?


I wonder how many officers had a Code Brown in their underdrawers? Seems they were mighty scared of one homeless man.


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The Fibune article says he posted $10K and bailed out of jail. I wonder who posted the bond.


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Well MARY M if this POOR homeless man had his hands around your neck I BET you would cry for the POLICE , If you feel so strong that the police were wrong , don,t call when you need help .

Better yet I think YOU and the rest of the whiners need to take the RICHARDS of SLO town home with you , then the TAX PAYING citizens of the city can walk thur town without the constant harassment of the RICHARDS .


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“YOU and the rest of the whiners need to take the RICHARDS of SLO town home with you , then the TAX PAYING citizens of the city can walk thur town without the constant harassment of the RICHARDS .”


That it what we taxpayers pay tax for jarhead. We are already paying to get people like Richards into treatment and that doesn’t seem to be happening. No rather we give money to healthy bums and illegals who want a free ride. According to the Tribune, this man saw his family members “raped and murdered” in Africa. Sounds like he might be a victim of the Hutu uprising against the Tutsi people, an atrocity that has been well documented and something that I guess, would make most of us nuts if we were to survive through it. I understand that the police didn’t want to get hit with rocks and throwing him down was a defensive tactic but I don’t understand the lack of compassion towards Richards plight. We have a place to care for stray dogs but not sick stray people like Richards who can’t help himself out of madness. Shame on us and attitudes like yours.


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tAKE HIM home with you cindy


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There is a difference from someone assaulting me and someone sitting quietly by themselves waiting for a sandwich.


Listen, I don’t go into SLOCity anymore. They let a psycho firefighter, who likes to assault people at bars and parties, go loose on the streets and pay the police to bully the homeless and mentally ill.


Besides, if someone was assaulting me by holding me by the neck, there wouldn’t be a SLOCity police officer in sight. They’ve become too soft and PWOK-PWOK by being paid to bully and beat those who cannot defend themselves..


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You are entitled to your opinion, M M so stay in your PERFECT city of PASO ,


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So the guy doesn’t understand “would you like some water?”, acts strangly, and randomly throws rocks. Jenkins and Rizzo are delighted that this man roams the streets and will be joined by more and more until SLO reeks of urine, the “nicest place in America” people get their noses rubbed in it and realize they have no right to quality of life unless all are equally happy. (and our extortion money paid) SF is so bad that even the people who caused the problem are looking for greener pastures, and here we are. Anyone care to let their kids walk to Meadow Park and play unsupervised?


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Kids should be supervised when in public, especially parks, and especially in SLOCity. There might be a boy scout leader or SLOCity police officer around, and then the kids would not be safe.


The SLOCity have been reduced to bullying and beating mentally the mentally ill and homeless. Bullying and beating kids can’t be too far behind.


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None of the parks in SLO are safe for “normal people” anymore. They are all being over run by the homeless/transients/derelicts/addicts, no normal family would want their children around these BUMS…


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move to Afghanistan


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Interesting how he was arrested on shelter property when he was on McMillan, and, resisting means fighting off right? Kicking at the cops? Hitting at the cops? The mentally challenged don’t know what resisting is.


Besides, how would you like to see your whole family murdered in front of you? Then get dumped here by those who brought you here? So he was taken out of hell, and dumped in hell.


I find it amazing how people just WANT to look for the bad in some poor guy who never does a

damn thing to anyone, but only for the sake of being homeless.


That damn shelter is supposed to be there to help those in need, those who are hungry, not just the same lazy, useless, bums, for the rest of their life! I guess Diane is a “Rule Freak”. All the staff at the homeless services are just in it for the money anyway. The only crime Richard commits, is that he wont stop talking…that’s harassment!


did any of you know, that our Constitutional Amendments even extend to illegal aliens when being arrested? They also extend to the homeless.


But all of you with all your hate, just wait, you’ll get your just dues as well. How will you face your creator? Think you’ll make it to heaven because you hate the homeless, or the mentally challenged? Perhaps you especially hate him because he is black…OMG! A BLACK HOMELESS man is going to eat your kids!!! Call the COPS!


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See this story for background information http://slo.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=102069&nc=1. He has already been released on bail which was set at $10,000. Did someone pay his bail, or did he have the the bail money? Maybe there’s more to this story. Why is this man here in SLO?


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Just re-read this story… and have a question : Just exactly ” What is a local homeless person ” Local… Homeless…???? We all know where Mary Malone is comming from. Contract out police protection ? With another grant funded gang of thievs. What about their pensions, retirement, time in grade, etc; No Mary…… not a good idea.


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The losers they have working for the SLOCity police department can’t do much but bully and beat up the mentally ill and homeless. They let John Ryan Mason go free for 5 days before they could be bothered to arrest him. Mason makes it a habit of beating up civilians in bars and at parties.


If SLOCity wants to continue luring tourists to this den of police brutality, they better contract it out to professionals who now how to provide quality service.


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After reading the Tribune this morning, why is he in the United States, is he a legal citizen since the article said he witnessed the killings of his family in Africa and now is suffering from Schizophrenia. Has this County not learned anything in the past two years or so. Did we not just see a big story in the Tribune last week regarding the killings/murders of all these Schizpohreania victims. Are we going to leave this man continue to roam our streets, attack our citizens, kids and police before someone is again killed. He definitely needs to be locked up. I’m no medical person here but even I can see this is an incident waiting to happen and someone will get hurt. Geez, somebody do something for him, apparently he is incompetent to take care of himself.


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SLOBIRD, I am making sure that Richard will get the help he needs. He should not be on the streets fending for himself, and I don’t even know how he does it. But as for him attacking anyone, that won’t happen, unless you pose a threat to him like the police do.


In his country, the police really ARE the devil, and most likely, whatever part of Africa he comes from, throwing rocks may be the only defense they have.


Richard is as non-violent as they get.


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Paranoid, Party of One?


He has a right to be here, just like you and I do.


Who cares who paid his bail? I would have, if I had the money. You gonna say something to me about that?


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Better question, Citizen, is HOW & WHEN did he GET HERE from Africa of all places?????


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